Iowa City, IA (Sept. 28, 2022) – College Raptor, the most accurate and comprehensive college search site, released its “2023 Hidden Gem College” rankings. In its 8th year, the rankings put a spotlight on amazing colleges and universities, one in each state and Washington D.C., that students may not know about but certainly deserve consideration.
For the 2023 Hidden Gems, College Raptor includes four new ranking categories recognizing colleges and universities that have a religious affiliation, are affordable for the middle-class population, offer a geographically diverse student body, and have robust STEM programs. The top schools in these new categories are:
- Best Religiously Affiliated Hidden Gem College: Hillsdale College
- Best Hidden Gem College for Middle-Class Affordability: Virginia Military Institute
- Most Geographically Diverse Hidden Gem College: United States Coast Guard Academy
- Best STEM Hidden Gem College: Harvey Mudd College
Additionally, 10 new schools took the #1 spot in their states including: University of Alaska Fairbanks (AK), Western Colorado University (CO), Gallaudet University (DC), Gustavus Adolphus College (MN), William Carey University (MS), Yeshiva University (NY), Meredith College (NC), Grove City College (PA), Virginia Military Institute (VA), and University of Washington-Bothell Campus (WA).
“At College Raptor we recognize the challenges many students and families face when creating their college application lists,” said William Staib, co-founder and CEO, College Raptor. “With our 2023 Hidden Gem Colleges, we highlight colleges that students may not have heard of before. These are amazing schools and are worth exploring for academic, financial, and social fit.”
Hidden Gems are comprised of National and Regional Colleges within New England, Mid-East, Southeast, Plains Region, Great Lakes Region, Rocky Mountains, Southwest, and the Far West.
“We are thrilled to be named a top school in College Raptor’s Hidden Gem Colleges List,” says Karen Hunt, Vice President of Enrollment Management at Luther College. “We often talk about Luther and our hometown, Decorah, as being a destination location. Ninety percent of Luther students study away or study abroad, and our student body includes citizens from more than 60 countries and 48 states. We are happy that College Raptor has confirmed our status as a gem of Iowa and the Great Plains Region!”
The Hidden Gem Colleges are the highest-rated schools in College Raptor’s 2023 Best Colleges rankings that have fewer than 7,000 undergraduate students, have a 10% or higher acceptance rate, offer five or more unique majors, and receive fewer than 5,000 applications per year.
View the complete College Raptor 2023 Hidden Gems Colleges rankings.
About College Raptor
College Raptor is the most accurate and comprehensive college search site with tools to empower students, parents, counselors and colleges with college planning. College Raptor is the only college search platform that enables students and families to discover quality, affordable college options based on personalized estimates of financial aid, scholarships, academic match, and acceptance odds at every 4-year college in the country. More than 25 million students and families have used College Raptor to find cost-effective, academically appropriate college options that prepare them for future careers. For more information, visit CollegeRaptor.com.
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